With daily life disrupted, it’s important for social media marketers to carefully approach COVID-19, or the coronavirus, with empathy. The world is not operating “business as usual” and neither should your brand’s social presence. It’s okay to look for sincere ways to engage during a crisis, but remember that the actions your brand takes to help will be much more meaningful than any marketing message.
As you face your own company struggles and rework your digital strategy, here are some tips for providing support to customers and for getting yourself heard during these challenging times.
1) Keep yourself safe and informed
Content from official sources like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO) and your local health department will have the latest information that you need to know in order to respond quickly in this pandemic. Check them frequently and follow their guidelines closely. Do not contribute to the spread of misinformation.
2) Move events to digital platforms
If you have to postpone or cancel a planned event as a result of the outbreak, consider moving your event to a digital space. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn all offer live broadcasting services as a way to interact with audiences.
Here are a few tips for going live:
Tell your followers when you plan to broadcast. If you utilize Facebook’s live scheduling tool, your business page will share a post that allows fans to opt in to receive reminders about up-coming broadcasts.
Make things easier on yourself by write live post captions ahead of time. You may open and close the live window several times while testing camera angles, so having your description ready to copy and paste is always a simple way to stay on task.
When you’re broadcasting, remind your viewers to subscribe to get live notifications from your page. There’s a follow button that appears in the corner of Facebook broadcasts that they can simply click to start receiving push notifications the next time you go live.
Even if you aren’t reading comments while you’re live, be sure to go back and reply to questions in the comment section to further generate meaningful conversations with your audience.
3) Communicate with your customers
Pin important posts or tweets to the top of your Facebook or Twitter page so that audiences don’t have to search for your COVID-19 response. Include what measures you’re taking to product your customers, employees, or products and consider how your brand could be useful during the crisis. At this time, it’s important to lead by example, make generous donations, and offer policy changes that address customer’s evolving needs when you can.
While it may seem like a good idea to offer discounts on products or services, refrain from being self-promotional. Direct marketing can easily come across as if you are taking advantage of a dire situation – and so can trying to capitalize off of serious hashtags. Let your goodwill speak for itself and expect a return via favorable brand recognition.
4) Have frequently asked questions readily available
As plans are interrupted, your customers will have questions about how reactions to COVID-19 will impact them. Prepare a list of FAQ responses that addresses common questions such as refund policies or business hours and share them to your social accounts so that audiences don’t have to reach out individually.
If you’re seeing an increased number of direct messages from customers on Facebook, you can add up to 4 FAQs to auto-appear once a customer begins a chat with your business page.
5) Create reassuring content
During stressful and difficult times, people often turn to social media for positive, funny, hopeful, and reassuring content that may provide them with a temporary distraction or give them confidence. Craft your content strategy around up-lifting messaging and provide alternative methods for your audience to interact with your brand from afar.
If you’re interested in learning more, LinkedIn has made “16 LinkedIn Learning courses available for free including tips on how to: stay productive, build relationships when you’re not face-to-face, use virtual meeting tools (Microsoft Teams, Skype, BlueJeans, Cisco Webex and Zoom), and balance family and work dynamics in a healthy way.”
We’re all struggling in this moment. Feel free to reach out to us if you need assistance, encouragement, or simply need someone to listen.